A side of the US soul and jazz scene not often heard – served up in the hands of UK DJ Gilles Peterson, a man blessed with keen ears for detecting an unusual groove! The package is a trip through American rarities Peterson has collected over his many years in music – a variety of small label titles from the hinterlands of the US indie scene of the 60s and 70s – many of them genre-busting numbers that shift effortlessly between jazz, soul, funk, Latin, and headier musical influences. As with any set from Gilles P, there's a method to the magic here that really makes us marvel – a talent not only for picking unusual tunes, but also for putting them together in a way that makes each number resonate with the next – coming alive as if they'd never been lost, and creating a level of excitement that's hardly matched by other collections! Titles include "Tribute To Wes" by Moses Dillard, "Didn't I" by Darondo, "He Does It Better" by Marva Josie, "Ya Ya Cha Cha" by Lonnie Hewitt, "Search For The Inner Self" by Jon Lucien, "A Perfect Day" by Bobby Cole, "Ode To Africa" by Harold McKinney, "Get Off The Ground" by Baaska & Scavelli, "Lover's Theme" by Bob Cunningham, "Just As We" by Caroline Peyton, "The Prayer" by World Experience Orchestra, "The Kingdom Within You" by Ira Sullivan, "Circles" by Ensemble Al Salaam, and "Just Me N You" by JR Bailey. LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet return to Brown Sabbath territory – that wicked blend of deep funk rhythms and fuzzy guitar, served up by the Brownout collective! The groove has some of the Latin elements that you'd know from Adrian Quesada's other work – but the rising guitar lines dominate a lot more – as do the horns, which crest nicely above the music, to ensure that there's a bit more soul here than on the original Black Sabbath versions of the songs! Yet the vocals by Alex Marrero are also sometimes right in Ozzy territory – which brings things back to base a bit – making for one of the most unusual takes on the music of Black Sabbath you'll ever hope to hear. Titles include "Fairies Wear Boots", "Snowblind", "Supernaut", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Sweet Leaf", "Electric Funeral", and "Children Of The Grave". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing bit of falsetto soul – and a tune that's become an anthem around Dusty Groove these days – given how many times we play it in the store! "Didn't I" has an infectious raspy guitar bit at the start, then rolls into harmony vocals, supporting Darondo's wickedly sharp lead! The whole tune's amazing – and it's one you'll be humming for weeks! And while we love the original, we're surprised at how well the reworks come out – versions by Guts, Florent F, and Dave Allison – which all preserve the same vibe as the original – which is also included here on the EP! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A pair of Darando's most classic jams perfectly paired on a 45! While both tracks are an amazing bit of falsetto soul, "Listen To My Song" is raw, searching and spiritual in the vocal and lyricism that cuts pretty deep. "Didn't I" has an infectious raspy guitar bit at the start, then rolls into harmony vocals, supporting Darondo's wickedly sharp lead. 7-inch, Vinyl record

Warm, genre-defying hip hop and soulful groove from Swedish producer/DJ Freddie Cruger, aka Red Astaire – who manages to blend a timeless b-boy hip hop style with elements of Latin, funk, soul and reggae as a backdrop – a tight, cohesive sound woven from deeply diverse range of source material! Freddie is the wizard behind the curtain here, and a revolving cast of MCs and soul singers bring voice to wonderful groove – including Jamaica's Desmond Foster, singer and rapper Anthony David, sweet soul singer Linn and more. A stellar co-release from Ubiquity and Raw Fusion – two tasteful labels with great taste together! Titles include "Over The Ocean" and "Take It Personally" feat Desmond Foster, "What'chu See Iz What'chu Get" feat Cee-Rock, "I Wanna Make You Movie" and "New World New Time" feat Anthony David, "Running From Love" and "Special Lady" feat ADL, "Bap Yo Head' feat Rapadon, "The Hustle", "I Feel Quote Whatever" feat Swingfly, and more. CD

One of the best tracks from Greyboy's recent album – served up in a host of great mixes! The original version is a classic 70s track by Syreeta – redone here by Greyboy with deeply soulful vocals by Bart Davenport, augmented nicely by a skipping groove from the Pied Pipers – using lots of funky flute and keys to really come up with a great sound! Red Astaire plays off the bass a bit more – abstracting the vocals a little, but still keeping the core of the track. 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of the rawest albums we've heard from Cubop in a long time – and an excellent session that teams up west coast Latin percussionists Bobby Matos and John Santos! The album's got a majesty that's remarkable – blending Afro Cuban rhythms, modern jazz, and a strong sense of swing – in a manner that reminds us of some of Eddie Palmieri's best work of the 70s. About half the tracks have vocals – but apart from "I Don't Speak Spanish", in which the vocals kind of detract from the overall song – the main groove is really carried by the percussion and jazzy soloing. Great stuff all around – and with tracks that include "Entrada", "Caminando", "Nueva Diana", "Cachao", and "Ya Se Ve". LP, Vinyl record album

The Monophonics definitely have a way of getting inside your brain – using a cosmic slop of fuzzy guitars and funky basslines to eat away your grey matter more than a maggot inside your cranium! Yet even past that heavy Funkadelic reference, they've also got a richer vibe too – elements of 60s psych mixed in with their funk – particularly in the way that the younger generation's been re-digging crates from the early 70s these days – especially some of the more farther-flung tracks from the global underground. There's slight Afro elements at times, garagey bits at others, and even some well-timed rhythms that help the whole thing have a good sense of focus – and save it from the overindulgence that toppled the hippie generation before they even got started. Titles include "Mirage", "Bang Bang", "Temptation", "In Your Brain", "Sure Is Funky", "There's A Riot Going On", "Say You Love Me", "They Don't Understand", and "Thinking Black". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary album from Chicago – recorded by a group with ties to Sun Ra, Phil Cohran, and Earth Wind & Fire! The set's got a sound that more than lives up to all those references – a vibe that's jazzy and soulful, yet often quite righteous too – imbued with the sort of spirit you'd guess from the group's name and the album's cover image – but often served up with a tight enough groove to make the set a favorite for fans of funk as well! There's a really special mix going on here – and unlike other ensembles of the time, The Pharoahs never go too far out – and instead really have the great sort of focus you'd hear even more strongly with Earth Wind & Fire. The lineup features Louis Satterfield on bass, Willie Woods on trombone, Don Myrick on saxes, Black Herman on drums, and Derf Reklaw on percussion and flute – and titles include "Ibo", "Somebody's Been Sleeping", "Damballa", "Freedom Road", "Great House", and "Black Enuff". LP, Vinyl record album

The text on the cover looks a lot like a classic JBs album from the 70s – which is no mistake, as the Soul Surfers turn their own funky talents to a pair of killer cuts from that famous James Brown funk band! "Popcorn With A Feeling" is done with a vibe that's nicely different from the original – leaner, and more spatially paced – with two guitars trading a lot of the space that might have been held by horns – over some massively heavy drums! "Givin Up Food For Funk" is different too – fully digested by the group as an inspiration, not just copied – so that their take on the cut is an almost original groove! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Rare material from the legendary Ramp – two tracks produced by Roy Ayers after the group's classic first album – issued here on a limited 7" single! "Old One Two" sounds like something that would have been right at home on Come Into Knowledge – a bumping groover with skittish rhythms, sweet keyboards, and that great female vocal style that's become the Ramp hallmark over the years! "Paint Me Any Color" is great too, and a bit more righteous – warm acoustic piano on the intro, some swelling female chorus vocals on the lyrics, and a dark-edged mellow groove that's totally great – and very much in the spirit of "Daylight"! 7-inch, Vinyl record

The debut release from Cuica – a group that features Simon Serrietella, aka Big Bang! Cuica take their name from a Brazilian percussion instrument that has a very unusual sound – and while this record has very little to do with Brazilian music, it does have a highly percussive sound – one that's almost a stripped-down version of the London broken beats of Big Bang. The groove is very spare on most cuts – and a lot of the basis for the percussion is natural instruments, sampled and looped in a way that gives the work a nice tribal kind of feel. Warm keyboards step out on a number of cuts, adding in a nicely soulful approach – and titles include "Nights Over Vauxhall", "Slipping Away", "Afrique", "Meierising (parts 2 & 3)", "Why Not Samba", and "Double Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Spacey beats, funky keyboards, and a clear vision for the future – all coming from the hands of Kirk DeGiorgio, one of the most important producer/musicians to come out of the London scene of the past decade! This Ubiquity full length goes way past most of Kirk's recent singles and remix efforts – to a level of expression that few groups can match, save perhaps 4Hero – blending a rich tradition of space jazz funk, with broken beats and the occasional soulful vocal, into a seamless wall of sound that shifts, shimmers, and delights throughout! Titles include "Like No Other", "Another Revolution", "Problems", "Music Is An Open Sky", "Amalia", "In The Arms Of You", "Undefeated" and "Contours". LP, Vinyl record album

Funk-tinged modern soul from Mama's Gun – the London based combo who've been making waves across the globe for close to a decade leading up to Golden Days, which sounds right at home on Ubiquity Records! The songs and overall sound blend vintage inspiration with sly modern touches, from a breezy group soul style over Stax-y horns, Cali psych soul guitars over impressive harmonies and seriously effective lead vocals from front man Andy Platts, often with ambitious instrumental elements with bits of flute, strings and piano. Includes "You Make My Life A Better Place", "On The Wire", "I Need A Win", "Diamond In The Bed Jar", "London Girl", "The Spooks", "We", "Golden Days", "Strangers On A Street" and "This Is The Day". LP, Vinyl record album